Mercedes Benz CLS 55 AMG
Mercedes CLS 55 AMG – Sleeper Car
For the person who has a ‘corporate’ image to maintain, but has within him or her, a desire for speed, then the Mercedes CLS 55 AMG is the car to get. This is a car that looks like a pussycat on the outside, but is a tiger when unleashed. This is a car that you can arrive in style at any function, yet have fun getting there and back. Bookings will be open in early 2005.
The CLS 55 AMG is a unique 4-door coupe that exudes sophistication and breeding on the outside, and is docile when it is required to be. Ruffle its fur, and the tiger in it bares its fangs and roars in anger.
From the outside, the CLS 55 looks elegant and classy, with four doors, and is Mercedes Benz all over. There is a slight hint of it being sporty in the low-slung ‘coupe’ roof that arches up from the bottom of the front windscreen and continues in a smooth line all the way through to the rear screen, and rear boot-lid. Its lines are clean and posh; the CLS 55 AMG will blend in, when in esteemed company. Only trained eyes will be able to suspect something is underfoot when they see the ultra-low profile 255/40 front tyres and the 285/35 wide based rear tyres mounted on un-equal sized front and rear 18-inch rims, (19 inch heels are available as an option) and the large air intake under the front bumper, in addition to the tastefully rendered body styling parts from AMG. Bi-xenon lights, together with an ‘Active Light System’ are standard equipment.
Inside, the Mercedes CLS 55 AMG is everything a luxury Mercedes Benz should be; electrically controlled seats with memory, fully adjustable steering wheel, soft nappa leather upholstery, wood paneling on the dash, and a top class stereo system. The interior is a pleasing combination of exclusive, sporty styling, high quality materials put together to give an outstanding quality of finish. The AMG multi-contoured sports seats feature a special AMG perforation pattern, and are double stitched for durability. The seats are heated, and feature an AMG emblem.
Additional AMG designed items are built in; these include an AMG steering wheel with gearshift buttons, an AMG instrument cluster with a 320 km speedometer scale, white dials, red needles and ‘V8 KOMPRESSOR’ lettering, chromed door sills with the AMG logo, and sporty pedals of polished stainless steel with rubber studs.
Mercedes Benz forges ahead in the field of occupant safety with the introduction of its system called PRE-SAFE, which will be available in the CLS 55 AMG when it is introduced next year. The PRE-SAFE protection system detects critical handling situations which might lead to an accident, and prepares the occupants for an impending collision by pre-tensioning the driver and front passenger seatbelts, and if necessary, adjust the front seatbelts to a more favourable position in terms of its fore/aft location and the angles of seat cushion and backrest, and close the sunroof if it is open. The passenger cell itself offers passengers a high level of protection in any type of accident, intelligent restraint systems such as adaptive front airbags, high-performance belt tensioners for all four seats, belt force limiters, front sidebags and windowbags are standard equipment. Sidebags for the rear are available as an option.
Mechanically, the Mercedes Benz CLS 55 AMG is fitted with a 5.5 litre V8 engine that is also supercharged to give an output of a massive 476 horsepower and 700 NM of torque. Zero to 100 km/hr is achieved in just 4.7 seconds and acceleration to 200 km/hr is done in 16.1 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/hr. The transmission is a 5-speed automatic, with AMG Speedshift, that allows users to choose between fully automatic or manual gear changes. In manual mode, the driver gets the option of using the selector lever or the F1-style gearshift buttons on the steering wheel. In ‘M’ mode, the driver can truly harness the immense pulling power of the V8, as there is no automatic downshift under full throttle or during kick-down. It remains steadfastly in the selected gear and stays there even as the engine bounces off the rev limiter. To prevent transmission slip, there is a ‘lock-up’ clutch in the torque converter that works even in first gear.
In the handling department, the CLS 55 AMG is fitted with a new AMG sports suspension that is semi-active and is adaptive. Dampers and springs are tuned to be ‘firm’ and shock absorbers are modified to reduce body movements. The suspension has been lowered by 10 millimetres, and automatic self-levelers maintain the car at exactly the same height even when fully laden. The driver has the option to choose between three settings according to his preference for soft, firm, or hard. The brakes are ventilated and perforated discs with an 8-piston caliper, while the rear brakes are ventilated and perforated discs with 4-piston calipers. Electronic control systems include ABS, and ESP (Electronic Stability Program), to make the car practically idiot-proof.
On the road, the CLS 55 AMG is like Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It will drive slowly through a village, silently and elegantly, but once out in the open, you can let it rip by stepping on the accelerator. The car will respond to your demands with gusto, and it just flies. And the sound of the exhaust is awesome! Once the throat is held open, the V8 roars, loud and throaty, and if the CLS passes you at speed, it feels like the very earth around you is shaking! I figure they must have spent hundreds of hours just tuning the exhaust note.
Handling is of course faultless; any attempt to put the car out of line will be detected by the traction control system and the system will apply brakes to the appropriate wheels and throttle down the engine to get you back on line. The low profile tyres provide sure-footed grip and precise handling. It is good to the point of being a no-brainer.
How much is it? Wait for the announcement.
